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Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Lone Star Tutorial

When I was first learning to quilt, one of the very first books I bought was one by Fons and Porter.

This is a GREAT book for a beginner or one who wants to learn to do different blocks. It covers piecing, applique, and quilting. THIS is where I learned how to do my star quilts.

So here we go.

For this star, we will use 5 different colors. If you want a star with more 'rows' in it, or less, you can do that also. But for today, we'll be sewing a star with three 'rows'. If you want to use only three colors, you can do that also.

The first thing you want to do is make a diagram of your large diamonds. Mark where the colors go. I also list what colors go with which numbers. It really helps to keep the colors where you want them to go. Like this.

This is how you are going to sew your strips. So I made a little diagram of that also, as it helps to keep things straight. It's so easy to mix things up sometimes :)

Can you see how you can use 2 or 3 colors instead of 5? Strips 1, 3, 5 can be one color, strips 2, 4 another. Or 1 and 5 can be the same color, and 2, 3, 4 different. You can do it however you like. I am using these 5 colors, with the gray swirl as the background.

Trim up your edges. Be very careful with these diamonds, they get stretch out easily.

You should have 8 big diamonds now. They should measure 16.5" from tip to tip (longways) and 9" along all sides. Lay them out so that they are all the same way. your 1's should be on the top, 5s in the middle.

Take two diamonds and put them right sides together. Match your seams. And pin.

Your seams should nest nicely together.

Sew your 1/4" seam. Make SURE you start 1/4" down from the tip, taking a backstitch or two. This will allow you to set your Y seams in.

Open up, and press seam to either side.

Here's the back. It's just finger pressed, as I couldn't run my iron. But you can see all the seams are lying nicely.

Sew four sets of 2 big diamonds. Make sure you press all the seams in the same direction.

Here's what the middle looks like, once two big diamonds are sewn together.

Put two sets of 2 diamonds together. Pin and sew as before, remembering to start at the 1/4" mark.

You should now have two sets that look like above picture. Here's a close up of the middle, where all the seams come together. You should have a nice 1/4" seam.

Sew your two halfs together, starting at the 1/4" mark again. An almost perfect center :)

All your long seams of the big diamonds, should be pressed in the same direction.

Now to add your background squares.

Cut six 9 1/4" squares. Cut two of those squares on the diagonal. Add your squares first, and then your triangles.

Go here for the tutorial on setting your background pieces in. The tutorial just shows how to add one piece. But you do it the same way with all your squares and triangles.

The squares will be a bit bigger than the triangles, when you have them all pieced in. Meaning the squares will stick out a bit more, they will not be even along the sides. That's ok, I just like to make sure I have enough wiggle room to square it up nicely.

And there you have it! A beautiful diamond, set in stone ;)

Here is a linky thing, so you can share pictures of your stars. I would LOVE to see them!!

PS, don't forget to drop me a comment and leave me your name, if you're a wantobe quilter! LOTS of prizes you could win over at the Stash, come August.

Great tutorial! I have wanted to make a lone star quilt forever (I'm from Texas) and haven't built up the courage to do it. Your tutorial is making it seem like I could do one tonight. Going to give it a try... thanks for making it approachable!

Hey Dorian, I am giving this a go (because I LOVED it) but I can't get the diamonds to line up. Any suggestions on how I can figure out what I am doing wrong? I have followed the tutorial above but still having issues :( Any tips would be great :)

Thank you so much for this tutorial.The first quilting book I bought was also Fons And Porters and I have wanted to make a Star of Bethlehem aka Lone Star quilt ever since.I have started making it with six fabrics but thought the instructions for pressing were not going to make the seams match up. I figured they should be pressed alternatively.You have confirmed this for me. You have done a wonderful job and provided clear and coherent information.